Thelma A. McKeown

Friday

Thelma A. (Canivan) McKeown of Penndel passed away of cancer on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, at her home. She was 64.

Born in Johnson City, N.Y., she moved to Hazelton, Pa. and then to Easton, Pa. where she grew up.

Thelma worked as an instructional assistant for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit # 22 (BCIU) in many capacities. She worked in several different places including Eastern State School and Hospital in the adolescent wing as an instructional assistant. She then worked as an instructional assistant in the juvenile forensic unit.

She continued working for BCIU as a job coach for students with disabilities.

She touched the lives of many students. Former students would call her from time to time to keep her updated on their lives. Second to being a parent, her job was one of the most rewarding aspects of her life.

As a personal milestone, Thelma was clean and sober for 10 years in November. She went on to help others with their sobriety, continuing her lifelong legacy of helping those in need.

She is survived by her husband of 23 years, Edward A. McKeown. Thelma and Ed met in 1975 and Ed fell in love with Thelma and her two daughters. She is also survived by daughters, Kelly Chalifoux and her husband, George of Warwick, Pa., Patricia Bell and her husband, James of Levittown; grandchildren: Ryan and Erin Chalifoux and Olivia Bell; her sister, Mary Lee Ely and her husband, Robert; and her brother, Edward Canivan and his wife, Barbara.

The family will greet friends Monday at 9 a.m. at Our Lady of Grace Church, 225 Bellevue Ave., Penndel, Pa. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be private. Fletcher-Nasevich Funeral Home,

Philadelphia

www.fletchernasevich.com

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